Focus on fish in new Project Room exhibition
The exhibition The fish that sees its water is getting shallow cannot be stranded opens at The Project Room next Friday (30 June) at 18:00.Curated by well-known Namibian writer and performer Nashilongweshipwe Mushaandja, the collection features the works of 16 celebrated Namibian artists.
The exhibition departs from an observation of the recurrence of fish in contemporary Namibian art.
One only has to attend a local exhibition or work through a collection of Namibian art and you are likely to find representations or engagement with fish or other water resources. This observation begs for a curatorial intervention reflecting on how fisheries and water cultures have been historically expressed in Namibian art.
The title “the fish that sees its water is getting shallow cannot be stranded” is a popular African proverb which metaphorically speaks to experiences of survival, livelihoods and mobility. It emphasizes both the fish and water as relational dynamics that are marked by movement.
This exhibition is the first volume of many presenting a discursive and historical outlook on how artists in Namibia’s post-coloniality are thinking with and through images of fish, water and the natural environment. It is a collection of prints, photography, mixed media works, installations, music, performances, documentation of previous artwork and literature relating to the political and socio-economic uses of oceans, rivers, reservoirs, springs, lakes and groundwater.
The featured artists are Elia Shiwohamba, Veronique Mensah, Ishmael Shivute, Barbara Bohlke, Peter Mwahalukange, Gift Uzera, Muningandu Hoveka, Joanne Sitler, Diolini, Hercules Viljoen, Tuli Mekondjo, Kay Cowley, Julia Hango, Shomwatala Shivute, Jo Rogge and Samuel Mbingilo.
The exhibition runs until Saturday, 15 July 2023.